Opinion Journal: Charges Against Mubarak Dropped, Egypt Shrugs

12/1/2014 1:44PM

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Fellow Eric Trager explains the politics behind the former president’s lawsuit and what the decision says about the country’s rule of law. Photo credit: Getty Images.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... he gives former strongman Heilweil Marek ... was acquitted by a Cairo court this weekend on charges of murder ... what does this mean for Egypt the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Fellow ... Eric Trager joins me now Eric ... acutely rights groups are up in arms Here ... are you ... he you know the answer ... to ... my situation ... then ... it will we see right now is you know is a is for the whole product of ... a visual process was flawed from beginning ... which remember that ... Mubarak was only ... a trial ... due to the indicted in May twenty oh let me ... in the wake of minutes protest demanding that he died in which is this say that the move itself ... was political and that's a big part of the reason why ... the court struck down parts name was basically a to another case that pertain to his interior minister ... because he was in its entirety alongside the interior minister ... the court ruled that dad said that this was the exhibition was to try ... what we eat the charges were dropped the real outrage ... right now ... Egypt is not God who aren't ... too many Egyptians you know you as an old man who had ... no possibility of returning to power the real outrage is due to the ... the dropping of charges against interior minister who was the official most directly responsible ... for the wilds its protesters during the twenty eleven uprights ... hundreds of people who were killed and injured there ... is ... any justice for those people ... sees very likely and that's ... the reason why ... his early Tuesday some protests we have seen some protests ... the few protesters to die ... you know for the critical mass of Egyptians I think that this is a very interesting news story ... I don't think that it's in any way a game changer ... from pretty much the moment that Mubarak said oh what they ... want it seems is a return ... to normalcy so different and it's interesting news story but to but that they they basically moved on ... a return to normalcy ... the average Egyptian ... doesn't want democracy is that when Aaron and I ... the images she certainly it was happy with elections ... many Egyptians that the numbers thirty million of ... its eighty two million at the time participated in the twenty ... twenty fall Parliament elections certain age it is stated in the ... presidential elections the elected ... leader Mohamed Morsi ... or first and foremost they want it intends to ... know immensity of people ... and return to normalcy serve the ends of revolutionary activity ... next protests that are many Egyptians ... you know me ... as a solo creating more chaos shut down roads were the coolest sites with ... with security forces again that's that's ... my view ... that's the that's the view that one hears very frequently ... he he jet engine for them the revolution really ended ... the day that Mubarak so that's good news about ending the rule of the thirty year dictator preventing this exception this time it was in really down the far reaching change to the activists want it An and I think ... I know the media because we're so focused on the activist ... sites ... okay well ... Mubarak at no